(First Printed 2013)

She was in flux in her life. Just turning thirty as the decade of the 1980s turned into the ’90s,
she has taken a leap into the unknown, divorcing her well-placed husband only because he had become loveless, distant, and dull. Coming from a background of poverty, Penny Sturdevant feels the insecurities swirling around her after this big move. She dreams of getting off of the sidetrack, and becoming “part of something.” She gets every bit of that wish.

One day on a whim she stops off at an indie bookstore on the outskirts of her home town of
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The manager there has a hypnotic presence, with a magnetic gaze
that grabs her and leads her to come back again. He is a poet (six original poems are featured in the novel) and Penny finds him more and more intriguing as she gets to know him. The point of view in the novel is all Penny’s, so we have only Lyle’s mixed signals and Zen-like sayings to
know what’s happening in his mind.

In their initial dating, Lyle’s persona moves from the eccentric to the increasingly suspect.
One unsettling moment comes when he asks Penny to keep it entirely their secret that they are seeing each other. He has a plausible explanation for this, all ready to go. And it turns out that he always does. It seems he talks a good game. Penny reflects at one point that everything he says seems to be both outrageous and indisputable. He is a “plague of vague,” and “like boxing with a fog bank.” But he is also sexy, warm and loving for her. He’s different, and interesting. They have a hot affair. (Not that this is full-on erotica.)

Painter of the Heavens is the story of a young woman in transition in life who strays into the
orbit of a charismatic con artist. He’s not just an emotionally manipulative person, though he is
every bit of that. He is plotting a major historical document forgery that he hopes will net him
millions. She doesn’t know any of this as she begins dating him. And we don’t know if the
inscrutable Lyle is bad news for Penny, or only for the victims of his ambitious, outrageous
scam. How bad is this bad guy? Will he mean disaster, or even death for her? Or is this a crook
with a capacity for actually loving someone? He needs an accomplice for his peculiar enterprise, and his hazel eyes have turned to Penny.

“A RIVETING, INTELLIGENT NOVEL!”  

“This book reads like the manic, adrenaline-fueled offspring of Carl Hiaasen and Elmore
Leonard. I devoured this in two sittings. It’s really just your standard boy-meets-girl, girl-falls-for-boy, girl-finds-herself-ensnared-in-a-complex-forgery-scheme-with-her-criminal/sociopathic-boyfriend love story. Shot through with a cutting, merciless wit and energized by a madcap plot, Painter of the Heavens is the most fun I’ve had reading fiction in a while. This is a fine debut novel by an author whose enviable talent is matched by a large-hearted generosity for his damaged characters. Highly recommended.”

David Goldstein,  Reader for Ploughshares

“I just finished Painter of the Heavens. It was such an enjoyable read.

I found myself excited thinking about opening up my tablet and finding out what would happen
next. I loved the mix of poetry and novel, and the fact that the characters were book lovers
themselves was an added bonus. The storytelling telling reminded me of a cross between Sidney Sheldon and Nora Roberts (Two of my favourite authors).

Bart Stewart has a beautiful gift, one I hope he will continue to share with us book lovers.”

Yoricke E.

Amazon Book Reviewer

“Painter of the Heavens is a compelling psychological suspense novel by Bart Stewart. The
author pulls you in by telling the story mostly from protagonist Penny Sturdevant’s point of view.

Penny is a likable character at a crossroads in her life. She really wants to be part of something, but she hasn’t figured out what it is yet. Everything changes when she meets bookstore owner Lyle Chilton. Even though she has reservations about his request for a secret relationship, Penny falls hard for Lyle and complies with his request. Lyle is a complicated character, and when he is tender and loving with Penny, he is endearing. But Lyle is a schemer, and you just don’t know what his true plans or his feelings are toward Penny, which makes him a difficult character to like. I was completely captivated by their growing relationship and the variety of circumstances they found themselves in, which kept me turning pages. I didn’t see that ending coming at all!

A unique plot with twists aplenty and intriguing characters make Painter of the Heavens a
satisfying read.”

Lori (Lusty Penguin Reviews)